On this date in baseball history, former NL slugger and NY Yankees World Series Champion Johnny Mize passed away ten years ago. One of the feared hitters in the NL, he was traded after the 1941 season to the Giants to make room for a 20 year old named Stan Musial. Mize was no slouch as he drove in 100 or more runs in just about his first seven seasons. (He had 93 RBIs in 126 games as a rookie in 1936, clearly would have surpassed 100 in a full season.) In 1938 and 1939, he led the NL in home runs. He hit .349 in 1939 and led the NL in OPS and slugging percentage from 1938-1940. In 1942 with the Giants, he led the NL in RBIs and slugging.
After 1942, Mize joined the US Navy and did not play baseball again until the 1946 season. And he played in just 101 games, but he hit .337. His 1947 and 1948 numbers showed he picked up just right where he left off. In 1947, he hit .302, 51, 138, leading the league n HRs, RBIs and runs scored (137). He backed that up with a .289, 40, 125 season in 1948.
Mize would struggle for a significant part of the 1949 season. He hit just .263, 18, 62 in 106 games and was sold to the New York Yankees just before the season ended. The Yankees used him as a role player and part time starter, but was not a starter in the World Series against the Dodgers. He did get two hits and drove in two runs in his only two 1941 WS ABs (both as a pinch hitter). Mize rebounded with a solid 1950 season in spite of only playing 90 games. He hit .277, 25, 72 and started all 4 games of the 1950 sweep over the Phillies in the World Series. He hit just 10 HR in the 1951 season and played in 4 of the 6 games as a role player against his former team, the Giants in the fall classic. After a down regular season in 1952 (.263, 4, 29 in 78 games), he played a huge role in the World Series against Brooklyn. In 5 games (a 7 game series), he was 6-15 (.400) with 3 HR and 6 RBI leading the Yankees to their 4th straight World Series title. He would play in 81 games at age 40, his last season in 1953. He also got himself 3 more ABs in the 1953 series, which the Yankees won in 6 games.
Obviously, the war effected Mize like it did a lot of players. As a veteran, he was able to play a role on Casey Stengel's Yankees teams. Stengel loved to platoon players and Mize being the big left hand hitter he was, fit in perfectly. If you saw the role Mize had with the Yankees in his last five seasons, you'd never know Mize hit nearly 300 HRs and drove in nearly 1100 runs in his first 10 MLB seasons.
After 1942, Mize joined the US Navy and did not play baseball again until the 1946 season. And he played in just 101 games, but he hit .337. His 1947 and 1948 numbers showed he picked up just right where he left off. In 1947, he hit .302, 51, 138, leading the league n HRs, RBIs and runs scored (137). He backed that up with a .289, 40, 125 season in 1948.
Mize would struggle for a significant part of the 1949 season. He hit just .263, 18, 62 in 106 games and was sold to the New York Yankees just before the season ended. The Yankees used him as a role player and part time starter, but was not a starter in the World Series against the Dodgers. He did get two hits and drove in two runs in his only two 1941 WS ABs (both as a pinch hitter). Mize rebounded with a solid 1950 season in spite of only playing 90 games. He hit .277, 25, 72 and started all 4 games of the 1950 sweep over the Phillies in the World Series. He hit just 10 HR in the 1951 season and played in 4 of the 6 games as a role player against his former team, the Giants in the fall classic. After a down regular season in 1952 (.263, 4, 29 in 78 games), he played a huge role in the World Series against Brooklyn. In 5 games (a 7 game series), he was 6-15 (.400) with 3 HR and 6 RBI leading the Yankees to their 4th straight World Series title. He would play in 81 games at age 40, his last season in 1953. He also got himself 3 more ABs in the 1953 series, which the Yankees won in 6 games.
Obviously, the war effected Mize like it did a lot of players. As a veteran, he was able to play a role on Casey Stengel's Yankees teams. Stengel loved to platoon players and Mize being the big left hand hitter he was, fit in perfectly. If you saw the role Mize had with the Yankees in his last five seasons, you'd never know Mize hit nearly 300 HRs and drove in nearly 1100 runs in his first 10 MLB seasons.
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